Establishing the President's Board on Safeguarding Americans' Civil Liberties

Impact dates

1. Sep 16, 2004

   First meeting of the Board must be convened

Key directives

• Establish President's Board on Safeguarding Americans' Civil Liberties as part of DOJ for administrative purposes
• Board shall advise President on implementing civil liberties protections in national/homeland security functions
• Board shall request periodic reports from federal agencies on civil liberties policies and procedures
• Board may recommend policies, guidelines, administrative actions, technologies, and legislation
• Board shall review agency policies/actions upon request unless Chair declines after consulting Vice Chair
• Board shall obtain outside advice from non-executive branch individuals/entities
• Board shall refer credible information on possible legal violations to appropriate offices for investigation
• Board shall enhance interagency cooperation and coordination on civil liberties implementation
• Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security may establish external advisory committees upon Board recommendation
• Deputy Attorney General serves as Chair; Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security (DHS) serves as Vice Chair
• All federal departments and agencies shall cooperate with and assist the Board
• DOJ provides funding and administrative support subject to appropriations

Who is ordered

• Deputy Attorney General · Department of Justice
• Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security · Department of Homeland Security
• Assistant Attorney General · Department of Justice
• Counsel for Intelligence Policy · Department of Justice
• Chair of the Privacy Council · FBI
• Assistant Secretary for Information Analysis · Department of Homeland Security
• Assistant Secretary · Department of Homeland Security
• Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties · Department of Homeland Security
• Privacy Officer · Department of Homeland Security
• Under Secretary for Enforcement · Treasury
• General Counsel · Office of Management and Budget
• Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Community Management · CIA
• Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence · Department of Defense
• Legal Adviser · State
• Director, Terrorist Threat Integration Center · ODNI/Intelligence Community

Timeline

Risks & tensions

• Board is entirely composed of executive branch officials with no independent or congressional members, potentially limiting external accountability
• Vague 'as appropriate' language for subgroup creation and meeting frequency after initial meeting
• No enforcement mechanism if agencies ignore Board requests or recommendations
• Section 7(c) explicitly denies any enforceable rights to individuals, making the Board advisory only with no legal recourse for citizens
• Potential tension between civil liberties oversight and intelligence/national security priorities given intelligence community dominance in membership
• Chair's discretion to decline agency review requests (after consulting Vice Chair) may limit Board's proactive oversight role
• Unclear how 'credible information' standard for referring violations will be applied in practice